For people who attended Crawford High School or would have attended if they hadn't
moved -- or just have fond memories of San Diego in the '40s, '50s and '60s.

Check out the Crawford High web site.

Friday, July 5, 2024

July 6, 2024

 

Did you watch Fourth of July fireworks?  I was asleep and didn't hear a thing.


I've enlarged this cartoon to make sure you can read the inscription on Harry's gravestone.


I've just discovered a rare photo of me in Mr. Billings' Chemistry class.


I love old photos, but wanted to share this 2015 shot of the Hotel del Coronado.  Click HERE for an enlargement and a link to John Bare's other photos.

Old pals from Horace Mann Richard Bouman and Larry Brackett got together a couple weeks ago and sent a photo.  They haven't changed a bit!  Click HERE and see for yourself.



Did you hang out at Funky Quarters on El Cajon Boulevard?  I saw George Carlin there.  Click HERE to see some souvenir programs -- and some newspaper articles I dug up.



Friday, June 28, 2024

June 28, 2024

 

I hope my Jewish friends enjoy this.  I hope the rest of my friends get it.  Scroll to the bottom of the page for a bonus.






WHAT!!  June is practically over and NOW I find out it was Mens' Mental Health Month?  Somebody's gonna pay for this.



WHAT!!  MGEN Mike Borgschulte is turning over command of the 3rd Marine Air Wing at Miramar on July 2nd?  I didn't even know he was in charge -- or a general.  The last time we talked was when Nancy and I visited HMLA-367 at Camp Pendleton in 2010 and he was a Lieutenant Colonel.  Click HERE to see some pictures.



Desperate for something to do with Crawford, I'm reposting a trifecta of early aerials.  Click HERE and buckle your seat belt.



It's not the Carnation that was near and dear to the hearts of Crawford Colts, but the ice cream store at 3036 El Cajon Blvd served the public from 1941 to 1986.  Click HERE for a bigger picture and some additional information.



I've added another photo to the Balboa Stadium auto races page.  Click HERE to take a look







Friday, June 21, 2024

June 21, 2024

Today's the longest day of the year and the first day of summer.  All I know is that it's still light when I slip under the covers at 8 each night with a smile on my face.  A far cry from 70 years ago when I HAD to go to bed at 7 and I was upset that I could hear the other kids still in the street playing Three Flies Up.


Today's Far Side


Did you watch the US Open Golf Tournament las weekend?  That third hole was the undoing of some of the best golfers in the world.  It took me back to my playing days at Par Tee Miniature Golf on University Avenue.  The Ant Hill was MY undoing every time.  Click HERE to check out a couple of pieces of Part Tee memorabilia.



Terra American Bistro closes today after nearly three decades serving San Diego,  Started by my classmate Mike Rossman, it's been operated by his son Jeff for some time.  Click HERE to go to their web site and make a reservation.  It's located at 7091 El Cajon Boulevard if you just wanna stand in the parking lot and wave a handkerchief.




Here's a 1941 photo of the Star of India when it used to sit across from Navy Field on Harbor Drive.  Click HERE for an enlargement.




Georgia Wilson Hunter '60 passed away unexpectedly on May 31, 2024.  Her husband Steve is a 1957 Hoover graduate.


Marcia Solomon LeVitt ’64 passed away suddenly and unexpectedly in Sacramento, California.  Marcia was born and raised in San Diego, California where she lived a care-free life, much to the chagrin of her parents Samuel and Hope Solomon.  Besides the tamer tennis and swimming, she often rode the bus by herself to the beach eight miles from her home.  She was also known to sneak out of worship services to meet up with her friends doing the same at a local soda shop.  She and childhood and lifelong friend Donna even hitchhiked to Mazatlán when Marcia was just nineteen.  Marcia, known by some classmates as “Mushie”, graduated in 1964 after skipping a grade a few years earlier.  She went on to nursing school in Los Angeles at 17, but some of the realities of the profession led her to pursue a teaching career.  She attended Long Beach State and graduated from Chico State in 1972.  Marcia taught briefly at schools in inner-city Los Angeles and later in Foresthill, California.  She switched gears again, however, and worked for the Nevada County and Placer County Human Assistance Departments. She later transferred to the Sacramento HA Department where she worked for 26 years in the Welfare Fraud unit, making additional friends for life. She retired in 2004.  A hippie at heart, Marcia met Ed Zajac during communal living in an old Victorian house in Long Beach.  They shared a decade of travel and college-hopping before parting ways.  After moving to Sacramento, her next door neighbor introduced her to yet another set of friends for life, whose passion was exploring old mines and ghost towns in Nevada. She became a staunch believer in “life begins at 40” when she met and married Raymond LeVitt.   Marcia and Ray soon began volunteering and gathering more friends for life at several of the monthly community breakfasts on the Divide. Marcia also volunteered her talents at the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historical Park in Coloma.  She especially loved teaching gold-panning to visiting fourth graders and other tourists.  She even won a second place in the California State Gold Panning Championships!  Marcia is survived by, among others, her heartbroken husband Ray, sister Lynne Solomon Ballman and forever friend Donna Glazier.  




Friday, June 14, 2024

June 14, 2024



I don't think this needs a caption.  No surprise that both participants are male.


GRADUATION


1961 classmates Bob Richardson and Carole Smithson pose for a snapshot before heading off to commencement at SDSC.  Click HERE to read once again about the great graduation controversy from the year before.



Wow!  I forgot how many goodies Pam Burroughs shared having to do with her graduation in 1963.  Click HERE to see photos that include the bookcase at La Casa Frito (my house).



Did you graduate in 1972?  You're probably in one of the many photos shared previously by Ken Burton.  Click HERE and get out the magnifying glass.




Click on the links below to read Pacer Graduation Issues from






 

Friday, June 7, 2024

June 7, 2024


 

My pilot friends LOVE this Far Side cartoon.  They call them Cumulogranite clouds and say it's important to fly around them.

I thought I'd posted this photo before, but I can't find it.  It's a postcard photo of San Diego State around 1957.  Click HERE for an enlargement.


Scott Shaw posted this photo of an Oscar's Drive-In sign on Facebook.  I think it was taken at Midway and Rosecrans.  Click HERE for a larger view and see what you think.



Julie Eskew recently rediscovered her Choir Pins from Horace Mann and Crawford.  Click HERE to see them up close.



Click HERE to read all six pages of the June 6, 1973 Pacer.  Spoiler Alert!  Mrs. Tidwell and Mrs. Archibald announced their retirement.



William Simpson ’63 passed away May 30, 2024.  As a Crawford Colt, Bill lettered in track and wrestling.  He joined the San Diego Fire Department in 1966 and rose through the ranks to become a captain.  He served as a firefighter for 35 years.  Bill loved to hike the Sierras with friends and family and made annual trips which together covered over one thousand miles of mountain trails. He also loved to snow ski with his family near Lake Tahoe and travel with his wife Margaret to many places around the world.  He is survived by his wife Margaret, daughter Brigette, son Travis, stepson Justin, grandchildren Ryan, Gage, Sophia, Jacob, Max, and Cael and brother Ron.




Friday, May 31, 2024

May 31, 2024


Looks like the Coyote has once again come up short in an encounter with the Roadrunner



I didn't want to wait until Winter to share this postcard of snow in Julian. Click HERE for an enlargement.



Looks like the Class of '69 is planning a daytime reunion in Allied Gardens on Thursday, July 25th.   I've posted a slightly larger version of this ad on the Reunion Page.   Get back to me if you still can't read the names, phone numbers or email addresses of the folks in charge.



Richard Bennett ’61 passed away March 17, 2024.  He grew up in San Diego and lettered in basketball and tennis while at Crawford.  He went on to get a meteorology degree at San Jose State.  He lived in Walnut Creek, California and worked at the East Bay Municipal Utility District for thirty years, retiring as their water conservation administrator.  Richard was a devoted family man and enjoyed coaching his daughter and granddaughters’ soccer teams.  He loved to hike with his wife and dogs, cloud watch, storm chase, ski, and hang out with his friends and family.  He was a rabid San Diego Chargers fan.  He was preceded in death by his brothers John and Bill, as well as his fraternal twin Bob.  He is survived by his wife Bonnie, daughter Elizabeth, granddaughter Ella, and his younger brother Dave. 




 

Friday, May 24, 2024

May 24, 2024

 


Wow!  Memorial Day Weekend already?  Enjoy your barbecue and take a little time to remember those who paid the ultimate price.   Click HERE to revisit the Colt Memorial Page.


I love this cartoon -- and may have posted it previously.  I hope it brings back pleasant memories of childhood Monopoly games.



But, wait -- there's MORE!!  Colt Map Maven Dick Cloward shares the reverse side of last week's 1935 California Expo map.  Click HERE and scroll down.



Click HERE to peruse the KCBQ Top 30 from May 17, 1964.  Oh, dear -- that's 60 years ago.  



The May 21, 1964 Pacer is also 60 years old.  Click HERE to read all 6 pages.

Friday, May 17, 2024

May 17, 2024

 

I'm pretty sure this is one of my top five Gary Larson Far Side cartoons



This map of the 1935 California Pacific Exposition in Balboa Park appeared this week on Facebook.  I've blown it up larger than usual, so click HERE and enjoy.




The statement above took me back to my own experience with a Hot Deep Dish Pie at Oscar's.  Click HERE if you'd like to revisit an Oscar's menu from 1963.





I got a phone call on Monday from Duane Farrar letting me know that our '62 classmate Colin Cole passed away on Sunday.  He was found in his easy chair.  That's the way I want to go.











Friday, May 10, 2024

May 10, 2024


Those of you who have never done a Google search might not get this



Here's a lovely photo taken from 6th and Ash in 1890.  You can see the Hotel del Coronado in the distance.  Click HERE if you'd like to peruse a larger view.



I thought you might enjoy this photo of Channel 8 weatherman Doug Oliver filming a Wonder Bread commercial at the San Diego Zoo in 1960.



Click HERE to read the Crawford Pacer issued on May 4, 1973